I have an acro with a “tumor” like growth. Ever seen this before? There is nothing moving on or in it. Just looks odd. Has not changed for a while. Any thoughts? The clear bubbles are actually the skin of the coral.
Looks to me like a sign of STN or RTN? (Rapid Tissue Necrosis). Does the flesh of the coral come off when you put a turkey baster to it?
Were the two corals in the picture ever touching each other? they look pretty close to one another. It could be that the coral in question had been stung by the other coral. Maybe try seperating the two and see if the infected coral regains it’s health.
[quote=“houndsbayman, post:3, topic:6942”]
Were the two corals in the picture ever touching each other? they look pretty close to one another. It could be that the coral in question had been stung by the other coral. Maybe try seperating the two and see if the infected coral regains it’s health.[/quote]
No, nothing appears to have touched it. It is pretty firm when touched, not like RTN. Forgot to note that this condition has been like this over 60 days. It started 4-5 months ago, no change until 60 days ago when the growth got bigger. It then stopped growing and has remained unchanged until now. It goes not appear to be harming the coral as it is growing and healthy other than the growth. The “bubbles” are clear yet firm, not giving under pressure. The underside of the growth has a “bald spot” that has been the same since 5 months ago. When this started the “growth form” was near the tip, if that helps. I was thinking of just cutting that part out and making a frag. But it doesn’t seem to be hurting it. ???
Oh the 2 corals you see close to each other are actually the same colony. Don’t think it stung itself. They weren’t as close when it started.
I’ve seen the same thing on my green poci colony. One of the polyps was really inflamed like that for 6-9 months. I did nothing and it eventually went down, but is still noticeable now. When I saw the thread title this is exactly what I thought of… cancer?
The colony as a whole as well as neighboring polyps seemed unaffected.
Gall crab maybe?
There is definately a hard skeleton under it. The bald spot has a stony bulge just like any other spot on the coral, just big and round. It hasnt changed and doesn’t spread. Seems fine otherwise.
B- what happened when it went down? (on your poci) Is it just an odd looking growth but healthy?
There’s a good pic in the SPS section of Borneman’s Aquarium Corals book, and to me, it looks like a gall crab. They get in and burrow into the coral and the coral grows around it causing the bulge, but from what I remember reading, Borneman said they didn’t cause any real damage to the coral, only making it’s home and that’s it.
You can cut that piece off, then try to open up the bulging piece, that’s where the crab will be.
If it’s not a gall crab, I would just chock it up to an abnormal growth - especially if the tissue appears to be fine.
[quote=“Scottman81, post:8, topic:6942”]
There is definately a hard skeleton under it. The bald spot has a stony bulge just like any other spot on the coral, just big and round. It hasnt changed and doesn’t spread. Seems fine otherwise.
B- what happened when it went down? (on your poci) Is it just an odd looking growth but healthy?[/quote]
Yep, odd but healthy.
[quote=“Sneeyatch, post:9, topic:6942”]
There’s a good pic in the SPS section of Borneman’s Aquarium Corals book, and to me, it looks like a gall crab. They get in and burrow into the coral and the coral grows around it causing the bulge, but from what I remember reading, Borneman said they didn’t cause any real damage to the coral, only making it’s home and that’s it.
You can cut that piece off, then try to open up the bulging piece, that’s where the crab will be.
If it’s not a gall crab, I would just chock it up to an abnormal growth - especially if the tissue appears to be fine.[/quote]
I have that book, somewhere. Just need to find it, that is the hard part.